Stippling and Pointillism: Building Pictures from Dots

Pointillism

Pointillism applies the same idea to colour. Painters place small dots of pure colour side by side, and the viewer's eye mixes them.

• The technique was developed in the 1880s by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac.
• Seurat's large painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is the classic example.

Related dot styles

Style	Description
Halftone	a printing method that uses dots of varying size to make shades of grey
Mosaic	small tiles forming an image

Dot effects on photos

Some sketch and art effects imitate these looks:

• Stipple effects turn shadows into clouds of dots.
• Halftone effects convert tones into patterns of dots.
• Pointillist effects replace colour areas with small coloured dots.

Choosing photos

Dot effects suit:

1. Portraits with strong shadows.
2. Objects with clear form, such as a shell or a bottle.
3. Landscapes with clear tonal layers.

Very small details can vanish, so choose bold subjects.

Viewing distance

Dot-based images change with distance. Up close, you see the dots. Step back, and they merge into a picture. When you print, check the result at arm's length and from across a room.

Print size

Dot patterns need enough resolution to look fine. Print at a decent size from a high-quality file, and look at a test print.

Try by hand

Take a pen and stipple a simple shape, such as a sphere. Put dots close together on the shadowed side, and further apart in the light. You'll see form appear from dots.

Tip

Try a dot effect on a portrait and compare it with a smooth pencil effect. The mood changes from soft to textured.

Try Color Photo Sketch →